Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Cornell President to Lead Horse Racing Board

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo appointed David Skorton, president of Cornell University, as chairman of the New York Racing Association Reorganization Board on Thursday, completing his takeover of horse racing in the hope of ending decades of scandal and mismanagement in an industry important to the state.

Skorton, a cardiologist, will lead a 17-member board that includes the new Cuomo appointees Bobby Flay, the chef and racehorse owner; and Jane Rosenthal, a film producer and co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.

“The new board is charged with reforming NYRA for the benefit of taxpayers, fans, track workers, jockeys and the horses themselves,” Cuomo said in a statement.

The board will immediately oversee the implementation of new drug rules that are among the most aggressive in the nation. The rules, resulting from recommendations of a task force appointed by Cuomo, come as racing wrestles with a drug culture that many of its most experienced officials say is diminishing the sport.

A New York Times investigation found that 24 horses a week die at America’s racetracks, a rate greater than in countries where drug use is severely restricted.

The new board may also explore allowing private companies like Churchill Downs Inc. or the Stronach Group, which owns Pimlico and Santa Anita, among other tracks, to bid to run Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. Both companies operate casinos at some of their racetracks, and they have aggressively pursued expansion, especially to places where gambling opportunities could increase.

A version of this article appears in print on October 19, 2012, on page B14 of the New York edition with the headline: Cornell President to Lead Racing Board. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe